My first Sunday here in Liberia (this time around)…
I attended Bible Class and morning worship at the Monrovia
City Corps. The corps building has been
beautifully renovated in anticipation of the 25th Anniversary
celebration this next week. Majors Sam
and Hagar Aponsak took me along with them to City Corps and Major Sam preached
from Exodus 12 – ‘do not be afraid’ – talking about Moses and the Israelites as
they left Egypt to begin their journey to freedom. The Bible Class focused on Matthew 1:20,
considering Joseph’s dream after learning that his betrothed was ‘with
child.’ I got to thinking about culture
and how deeply traditions from culture and family are ingrained in individuals,
families, communities, and nations. When
Joseph decided to quietly end the relationship with Mary, he was acting out of
culture and tradition. When God spoke to
him in a dream and told him to take Mary as his wife, he had to be willing to
step outside of culture and tradition to do the will of God. I wonder how often we make choices without
thinking – based on culture and tradition.
“We’ve always done it this way” may be our mantra when there may be
times when we thwart the will of God by believing more in tradition/culture
than really ‘hearing’ God. It is not
easy to step outside of culture – to make changes that require sacrifice,
suffering, misunderstandings or conversations behind our backs that strike a
blow within the church or relationships.
Joseph was willing to follow God’s leading and leave the results in the
hand of God. He acted out of selfless
love for God and for Mary. And the rest
is history!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013 – picking up the shipment from
the USA at Christian Aid Ministries
Got my phone unlocked
and put in a local sim card and pre-paid (scratch) card monies.
Momo said he’d meet me at the compound at 7:30 a.m. to go to
CAM. It rained hard in the night and was
still drizzly so I wondered how advisable it would be to go in the rain –
especially with many boxes of books. No
need to ponder such a thought. Momo said
we were going on Monday and that never happened and then he said on Tuesday
(for sure) and that didn’t happen either.
So when he finally showed up at CHQ around 1 p.m., I lassoed him in and
kept him in sight.
2 p.m. – rode in the “big” truck to go to CAM to pick up the
items shipped from USA. The truck looks
like something from the junk yard and I was surprised that it would even
start. But, start it did and away we
went.
They loaded the truck (2 pallets and a bicycle) with a fork
lift, so that took no time at all.
The ride there and back was interesting, to say the least. But then, driving anywhere in Liberia is a
unique experience. I sat in the middle
seat in the truck and when I asked why my seat was so hot, the driver said I
was sitting on the motor!
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